Blank for talking-machine records.



J. soHUMxcHER. BLANK FOR IALKING MACHINE REGORDS.

, 1&13.

Patented Dec.

APPLIATION FILED APB-.11, 1903.

JOHN SCHUMACHER, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH SANDERS.

BLANK FOR TALKING-MACHINE RECORDS.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

Application filed April 11, 1903. Serial N o. 152,191.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN SCHUMACHER, a citizen of the United States,l residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Blanks for Talking- Machine Records, of which'the following is a specification.

The present invention relates more particula rly to a blank for that class of records thai are made and put upon the marketin -conipleted condition, ready for use on talking machines used principally for amusement. Such records are usually made on flat circular disks or blanks and these blanks are usually` made of, a composition of which shellac is the yprincipal ingredient.

They are heavy and expensive, and they break easily when subjected to a sharp, sudden impact. Shellac is usually used but other plastics such as guttapercha, wax and materials of a similar nature are available and may be used in some. cases with perfect satisfaction. So far as the present invention is concerned, I regard all suitable plastics as equivalents and hence the term shellac as herein used is to `be construed as including said equivalents.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a record blank which is less eX- pensive, of less Weight, and less liable to breakage than blanks` made wholly of shellac or of a composition of which shellac is the principal ingredient, or of other plastic material.

To these ends I make the blank of a body' or core of some flexible 'porous materialsuch, for example as card-board or blotting paperand I coat this body or core on one or both of its faces witha plastic material, such Aas shellac or a composition containing shellac, which is adapted to receive, and retain impression. The helical groove of the record is only an almost infinitesimal fraction of an inch in depth and' in order to meet the requirements -in this respect it is only necessary that the coating be of sufficient depth to receive the groove. In ordinary cases fifteen one-thousandths of an inch will suffice. I desire to have it understood however, that. the invention is not limited to the material of which thecoating is made, nor to the depth of the coating.

In practice I prefer to use a core or body of blotting` paper which possesses the advantages of the necessary lightness, iexi-v bility, and porosity besides which it is inexpensive. Preferably this core or body is first sized. As a sizefI prefer to use a mixture of Hour, glue and water in about. the proportions of one pound of Alour to one ounce of glue andnvate'r lnecessary for mixing as follows: To 'the flour is added cold water, stirring it meanwhile, until the mass reaches the consistency of, say, book-binders paste. Boiling water to the quantity of say one and one-halfgallons, more or less, is then added, stirring the mass meanwhile, until the mass becomes semitransparent and resembles laundry starch both in appearance and in consistency. To this-at any desired sta'geis added the glue, after the latter has beenA dissolved in a sufficient quantity of water to bring it to a liquid state. This size is preferably laid onto the porous body (and preferably on only one. side thereof) by means of a brush, although it may be applied by immersin event the size penetrates the body to a greater or less depth. Usually more or less of it passes completely through the body, leaving the greater and thicker portion as a surface coating and filler which,`to a greater or less extent, fills and stops up the pores or interstices of the body. The body is then dried either artificially or by exposure to the atmosphere. thoroughly dried the sized body is treated with a coating of shellac or a composition containing shellac, or other plastic composition. If shellac or a composition con-taining shellac is used it is thinned by the addition of alcohol until it is of such consistency that it may be easily applied with a brush or, if desired, the sized body may be immersed in a bath of it. It is preferable however, to apply it with a brush because ordinarily it will be necessary and desirable to apply it to only one face of the core or. body. IVhen thus applied to only one face, the core may be placed on a flat table or the like with the unshellacked side downward and allowed to remain until the shellac hardens and in this position the disk will dry fiat and true, whereas 'if the disk be immersed it will be necessary to suspend it or stand 'it on edge, and in this condition it may warp so'as to require subsequent treatment to make it true.' In either case notwithstanding the sizing the shcllac will penetrate the bodyor core to such a distance that the one will be firmly and securely anchored to the other, so that When this size, or filler is they cannot. cleave apart. Ordinarily, if the shellac is of the proper consistency, one coator layer will be sufficient, but if it is found" necessary to do so more than one coatmay be applied. i

It is not intended that the sizing shall wholly prevent the shellac from penetratingthe porous core or body but simply that it shall limit the quantity that the bo( y absorbs. iVithout any sizing it would be necessary to apply repeat-ed coats of shellac until the limitl of saturation of the porous body is reached, and this would be objectionable because of' both the veight arid the cost. l.lilith a size such as described the shell-ac will penetrate the porous body more or less and is preferably made to penetrate completely through it because it then forms a bond which binds the fibers of the body together and reduces its flexibility. it' does not make ii absolutely rigid, and it would not. be desirable todo so. a certain degree of flexibility being` desirable because it ren ders it less frangible and therefore less liable to break. l

ln its completed condition 'the blank is a normally dat dislr of sufiicientrigidity to maintain or substantially maintain 'its normal shape in ordinary handling. That is to say it may be handled precisely the above described blanks or records at present in use are handled and held at one side and in horizontal position it will not bend appreciably under its own weight. it the same time it does not have the rigidity and therefore it does not have the frangibility of the records of commerce.

In the accompanying drawing, which is made a part of this specification: Figure 1 is a` face view of a record blank embodying the invention, portions of the size and plastic coating being broken away. Fic. 2 is a transverse section thereof. 3 1s a section of fragment thereof. thickness being exaggerated. 4 is an exaggerated section of a fragment of a blank of different form embodying; some features of the invcntion.

fr represents the body encore of porous, flexible material such as blotting` paper7 cardboard or the like.

B is the size which coats one or both faces of the body or core and penetrates it more or less. l

C is the coating of shellac or a composition containing shellac (say shellac and lamp black) or other plastic composition and providing;l the surface for receivingthe record. lt penetrates the sifiinn' and also thc body or core. to a `anfeatcr or less extent so that in completed condition the hlanir consists of a homogeneous center, made up of paper ber, and shellac, and a surface coating of shcllac.

Although t is desirable, still it i.. not

`tablet with a sound necessary to size the body and in Fig. 4 have shown a fragment of a blank in which the plastic coating is applied directly to the body, and to both faces thereof. In order to still further prevent the record from bending too freely, and compelling it to lie flat when in use, it may be embossed as shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, where D represents an embossed bead near the edge of thc blank and E a circular, centrally located raised portion. This embossing may be done by the same operation that impresses the record upon the blank. The upper and lower faces of the embossed features are parallel and their sides slope or flare so that a number of records may be nested together.

`What 'l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

' l. Afsound record tablet blanlr comprising a base of fibrous material, a surface of sound record receiving` material capable of softening under the action of=heat to receive the impress of a sound record matrix and resistant when cold to the action of a pointed stylus, and a. sizing in the base permeable throughout the base to the surfacing material. n

sound record tabletblank comprising base yf fibrous material, sound record recei fing material applied thereto, andA aV sizing in said base pervious to said record material.

3. A sound record tablet bla-nk consisting of base of fibrous material permeated by a sizing and by a. record material sntliciently hard to practically resist the action of a pointed stylus, and a surface layer of the same record material upon said base.

4f. A sound record tablet consisting of a base of fibrous material containing` both' a sizing and thermoplastic record receiving material which latter is sufficiently hard when cold to practically resist the action of a pointed stylus.r and a layer of such record receiving material on the surface of the record groove impressed therein.

n. thermoplastic sound record tablet blank having a formed fibrous base or uudcrstructure containing shellac as the thermoplastic element, and a surface coating richel-'in shellac than the body portion.

o. A sound record tablet composed of a. fibrous base having` a coatingv of thermoplastic record material of sullicient hardness when cold to normally resist the action of a pointed stylus, said tablet bcingin the form of a. dislr of uniform thickness throughout thc area` reserved for the impress of a sound. record groove, and having a.,

sound record groove impressed in said area. with the body of the tablet embossed both exterior and interior to said record groove receiving area.

7. A sound record tablet containing thertao neoplastic material fibrous base also containlng'thermoplastic material, the said tablet having a sound record groove impressed in the surface and the body of the tablet being embossed adjacent to the record groove receiving area.

8. A sound record tablet blank comprising a. formed base of fibrous materia-l, a sizing of iiour and glue applied thereto, and penetrating said fibrous base, and a thermoplastic record receiving coating applied to the Sized base.

9. sound record tablet blank' having a pervious sized fibrous understructure, and a record receiving material on said understructure and penetrating the interstices thereof, said record receiving material having thermoplastic qualities due to the presence of shellac.

l0. A sound rebord tablet having ay thermoplastic record receiving'surfaoe and a pervious sized fibrous carrier therefor having its interstices penetrated by tlie surface materialthe therinoplastieity of l)said material being due to the presence oshellac.

l1. A sound recordtablet having ay thermoplastic record receiving surface and a fibrous Carrier therefor containing a sizing and also having the said record receiving material, the said record receiving material imparting thermoplasticity to the base or carrier.

12. A sound record tablet comprising a formed fibrous base With a shellac composition forming a sound record receiving' surface and also penetrating' the interstices of the base and binding the fibers thereof together.

13. As a new article of manufacture, a normally flat record blanket' sutiicient rigidity to substantially maintain its shape in ordinary handlingj said blank having a homogeneous core or center made up of a porous body of fibrous material and a bond permeating said body, and a surface coating of plastic gramophone material permeating the core7 said surface coating being adapted to receive and retain impressions, substantially as described.

' JOHN SCHUMACHER. lVitnesses:

SETH Biens,

L. M. HOPKINS.

its interstices penetrated bv 

